Viewers who rued that Coronation Street had long abandoned its working-class
realism for broad comic appeal would find little in the 1990s to dispel their
fears. Audiences are likely to remember the decade for its great comic scenes -
Ken Barlow struggling to teach Raquel Wolstenhulme French ("voulez-vous coucher
avec moi, Ken?") or Reg Holdsworth's ill-fated seduction scene on a leaky
waterbed. Even the tragic bore strong elements of black comedy - Terry Duckworth
selling his baby to the highest bidder and a deranged and vengeful Don Brennan
kidnapping Alma and driving into the canal (a device that has served the Street
well since).

The soap's strongest story came with the wrongful imprisonment of
Deirdre Rachid, who fell prey to a con man, Jon Lindsay. Some 19 million viewers
heard Deirdre cry from the dock - 'I didn't... do... any of it', a declaration
of innocence that led swiftly to the media campaign 'Free the Weatherfield One';
supportive comment was even made in the House of Commons by the then prime
minister, Tony Blair.

The show lost three of its most experienced writers in the decade - Adele
Rose, Julian Roach and Barry Hall. In 1996 a fourth (Sunday) episode was added
to the weekly schedule. In the same year Brian Park was appointed as producer,
replacing Sue Pritchard. Park cut a swathe through older members of the cast,
with casualties including the extremely popular confectionery and stationery
salesman Derek Wilton, whose departure provoked the equally popular comedienne
Thelma Barlow (who played Derek's wife, Mavis) to resign in protest. The
producer also introduced storylines designed to appeal to the younger viewers,
including eco-warriors and drug dealing. After a reign of just over a year, he
left claiming as his greatest achievement giving the nation its first
transsexual woman, Hayley Patterson, in a soap.

In 1992, Broadcasting Standards Council chairman Lord Rees-Mogg added his
voice to the persistent criticism that the Street wilfully failed to represent
ethnic characters. Viewers and the media were quick to defend the show, pointing
out that the 1991 census showed that Salford (the nearest town to fictional
Weatherfield) was 97.8% white. Patrick Stoddart of The Times responded: "The
millions who watch Coronation Street - and will continue to do so despite Lord
Rees-Mogg - know real life when they see it. It is the most confident and
accomplished soap opera television has ever seen."